I’m new here I have a question

[MeganWatson]

I always eat gluten free food and follow every step my Doctor tells me to...but I still get symptoms and I’m wondering if it’s because I am eating something I don’t know has gluten in yet I check all the labels so why do I feel symptoms still?

[Lisahelen]

How long have you been gf?

Have you cut out dairy products as well?

Many of us have additional intolerances alongside gluten, which until we have cut out the gluten completely do we realise that in fact, we have other food problems as well.

Try keeping a food diary to see if there are particular things you are having which cause problems. Bearing in mind that reaction can be within minutes to at least a couple of days, depending on your own particular symptoms.

There can be many seemingly unsuspecting food things too. Which makes being a coeliac even harder as some react to rice and potatoes, which are a large part of our ‘go to’ food.

The other main area of being glutened is cross contamination, so you need to be extremely vigilant about how and where your food is prepared.

[Penel]

Hi Megan

It can be difficult to pin down what may be causing your problem. As well as the good advice from Lisahelen, if you are eating a lot of ready-made gluten free foods, this may cause a problem.

The additives in some ready-made foods can cause digestive problems, things like emulsifiers, cellulose, and gum can upset a sensitive stomach. Perhaps try sticking to naturally gluten free foods for a while to see if that helps you?

[Regalbirdy]

Hi,

You remind me of myself at about 6 months into my gluten free life. I was saying the same thing you have above. Then it clicked with me that after lunch in the office some of my symptoms got more noticeable within the hour (My concentration went downhill fast and I became a lot more tired - which was not great when trying to draw up reports with a tight deadline!).

As the others have said, it is indeed very possible that you also have secondary food intolerances. My main ones turned out to be dairy and soya, although a few other foods will also set me off sometimes - such as avocado, non-dairy lactic acid and some of the ingredients in gluten free flat breads.

I suggest trial and error (and maybe that food diary someone else mentioned) to see if it settles things down for you.

HOWEVER, if you find that you need to give up dairy DO MAKE SURE that you find an alternative source of calcium, otherwise you will put the risk of getting osteoporosis in your bones up considerably. The same goes for anything else you need to eliminate in terms of finding new sources of vitamins and minerals. Another one to give a special mention to here, would be Vitamin D - which in the northern hemisphere is something that most adults have an insufficient amount of. I suggest that any newly diagnosed Coeliac (less than 12 months) should ask their doctor for a vit D blood test to get their levels checked. I felt a definite improvement after getting this one sorted out!

Hope this helps.

[pretender]

Maybe you are sensitive to...Maltodextrin...glucose syrup...dextrose? These are all classed as gluten free but are they? They are wheat derivatives. Some coeliacs react to them others do not.

[FFNick]

Are you aware that GF means very small traceable amounts may be present? Not completely gluten free. Also gluten can be hidden in other foods. One that took some finding was corn oil blended into cooking oil. Corn (maize) is GF, but one of my triggers. So GF does not describe my food intolerances.

Each person reacts to different foods. Finding out your triggers is a long process. By eliminating certain foods for several days, you can work out what is safe for you. Food diary?

GF is a generic term, encompassing many people and foods. Find out what you need to avoid and build on it.

Via your GP get access to a dietician as you knock out triggers.

Dextrose is derived from something. In North and south America from maize and wheat mainly, in Europe from sugar beet and wheat mainly,

Also caramel is derived from something. What?

Unless your GP is GF them self, the best advice is to do it yourself. Take advice from others to work out what to eat.

[Clared2830]

Yeast intollerance can go hand in hand with Gluten intollerance. It can be pricey but I had comprehensive food testing which pinpointed exactly what I had a problem with. Turns out Gluten, Wheat & Yeast and I had to cut out pork and dairy for a period of time also. I hope you get it sorted soon. I was going around in circles until I paid for the test. It was life changing !